RISE THE SUNFISH: RESEARCHERS UNCOVER NEW SPECIES OF GIGANTIC BONYFISH
Probably you heard about the new species of sunfish discovered by scientists in New Zealand! We are excited, because is the first addition to the Mola genus in 125 years
Previously undescribed, the new especies of sunfish it’s called the Hoodwinker Sunfish (Mola tecta). Marianne Nyegaard, an australian researcher made the discovery while researching the population genetics of ocean sunfish off the coast of Bali in Indonesia. She and her team spent four years searching for the fish, after genetic sequencing of 150 specimens in her research turned up with a new different species with remarkable body features.
The species name tecta is derived from the Latin tectus (disguised, hidden), as this species evaded discovery for nearly three centuries, despite the keen interest among early sunfish taxonomists and the continued attention these curious fish receive. While the English name, ‘Hoodwinker’, pertains to the figurative meaning ‘trickster, deceiving by disguise’, c. 1600. According to Nyergaard the Hoodwinker sunfish is thought to be widely distributed in all the world’s oceans except for the polar seas, however may be relatively uncommon in some areas, for example around Australia and New Zealand.
The taxonomy of ocean sunfishes (Family Molidae) has a complicated history, partially because they are so difficult to preserve and study, even for museums. If you don’t believe me, please look at this preserved
common ocean sunfish (cf. Mola mola) at the National
History Museum in Santiago de Chile.
Paradise fish are a species of freshwater fish found in ditches and paddy fields of East Asia.
Paradise fish were one of the first ornamental fishes available to western aquarium keepers, being imported into Europe as early as the 19th century. This is attributed to their hardy nature and attractive colouration.
Like other labyrinth fish, they are able to breathe atmospheric air, which allows them to survive in a variety of water qualities.They are also tolerant of a wide range of temperatures, as their natural range lies from the Korean peninsula to northern Vietnam.
The horrific visage of the Stoplight Loosejaw (Malacosteus niger).
Sutton, T. (2005) Trophic ecology of the deep-sea fish Malacosteus niger (Pisces: Stomiidae): An enigmatic feeding ecology to facilitate a unique visual system? Deep-Sea Research I 52 2065–2076.
Kenaley, C. (2012) Exploring feeding behaviour in deep-sea dragonfishes (Teleostei: Stomiidae): jaw biomechanics and functional significance of a loosejaw. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 106 224–240.
These guys are very cute but contrary to what the internet will lead you to believe, these are NOT stingrays! I know what you’re thinking, they look very much like the sea pancakes we know and love, but these angry ravioli are actually skates! Yep, these little ones are newly hatched skates. Many of you have probably never heard of the much less famous relatives of the stingray, but skates are a huge family comprised of over 200 described species, in 32 genera.
So you might be wondering how I can look at these guys and make that distinction? But there are several very easy ways to tell skates and rays apart! The first and most obvious giveaway is actually behind these skates, and that is their egg cases. Rays give birth to live young (ovoviviparous) and skates lay eggs (oviparous). Skates also have two lobes on their pelvic fins, one that looks like a “leg” and the other lobe looks more like a fin; rays just have one nice complete pelvic fin. Skates also tend to have larger fleshier fins, larger more defined snouts, and they lack the stinging barb on the end of the tail that gives the stingray it’s name. Skates and rays differ in many other ways, but those are the big identifiers in this particular photo.
These photos were kind of hard to find the origin of because they have been passed around the internet SO many times, but it appears they were from the MacDuff Aquarium in Scottland back in 2010. Below is a photo comparing skates and rays so you can learn to tell them apart!
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